How to Find Your Honeybee Queen

Reader Contribution by Julia Miller

Your honeybee queen is the most critical member of the colony. She is the egg layer, work director, and it is through her pheromones the colony knows they are a cohesive unit. Without her the hive dies. Periodically, it is good to have a queen sighting just to know she is alive and well. If you have trouble spotting the queen, you can always tell by larvae and eggs that she is present. But it is much more fun to spot her yourself.

The queen honeybee is distinctly different from the other bees in the hive. She has a longer body that appears more narrow than other bees in the hive. Her wings look shorter because of her longer abdomen. Do not confuse the larger drone bees with the queen. They are shaped like the workers but larger. There will be several drones in the hive but only one queen.

When looking for the queen, remember you are looking for one bee to stand out among tens of thousands. Sounds impossible, right? Like a proverbial needle in a haystack. It is kind of like that but there are some clues to narrow down the search.

Check the Brood Boxes

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